For years, vinyl has dominated the conversation around physical music. But according to Luminate’s 2026 Midyear Report, compact discs are quietly staging an impressive comeback.
During the first half of 2026, U.S. CD sales increased 16% year over year to 16.3 million units, while vinyl sales grew 2.4% during the same period. Although vinyl remains the best-selling physical music format overall, the report shows CDs significantly outpaced vinyl’s growth rate—marking one of the format’s strongest periods of growth in more than a decade.
According to Luminate, CD sales grew at nearly seven times the rate of vinyl during the…
